Lie To Me (Please)
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Blaise protects Theo from everything. Theo doesn't understand why nobody else can see that. Warnings inside.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise. **

**Challenges listed at the bottom. **

_Written for Ned for GGE. I'm so sorry this is so late, but I hope you like it anyway. _

**Warning: **Character injury, trauma, psychological themes.

**Word Count **\- 2305

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**Lie To Me (Please) **

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"What the bloody hell happened to you?" Blaise asked, eyebrows raising when Theo pushed his way through the door, turning briefly to close it quietly behind him.

Blaise was his new roommate, and Theo wasn't really sure how to take him just yet, but he lowered his head and muttered, "Flint happened. Flint always happens."

"That's the kid that lives in the next room over, right?"

Theo nodded silently and sat down on his bed and pulling the second drawer of his battered nightstand open. Inside, there was a pile of plasters and bandages that he'd managed to sneak away.

Blaise shook his head, a frown disturbing his usually flawless skin. "Does he do this often?"

Theo nodded again. "It's fine."

"It's really not. Let's go."

Blaise stood up from his own bed, and gestured for Theo to follow him. "How do we find Flint?"

"Just follow the screams," Theo muttered. "You don't need to do anything, you know? This is just… the reality of this place I guess. You'll be okay, Flint only picks on us that are younger or smaller than him."

Blaise snorted. "Well. We'll see how he likes it when someone his own size calls him out on his bullshit, won't we?"

What followed was the stuff of dreams in Theo's opinion. Blaise held Flint by the neck of his t-shirt against the wall, and told him that Theo was off limits to him now. Flint tried to fight back, but Theo could see the fear in his eyes.

Flint had never had anyone go back at him before.

"Touch him again, and you'll find out exactly why you don't want to mess with me," Blaise said quietly, his eyes boring into Flint's. "Do you understand me?"

Silently, Flint nodded his agreement, and Blaise let him go, turning back to Theo. He placed a possessive hand on Theo's back and led him out of the room.

"Come on, let's get you fixed up."

…

Growing up in a children's home wasn't easy. Theo had to fight for everything, and he'd learned young that a lot of the time, he would have to go without.

He was small for his age, small in general, and with so many other boys living in the same house that were bigger, and bolder, and braver than he was, Theo found that he was often forgotten.

Except for when they noticed him long enough to beat him up. Those times, he wished he was forgotten.

But then Blaise moved in, and everything changed.

Suddenly, Theo had someone on his side. Blaise protected him from the bullies. He helped Theo with his homework, and he fetched Theo sweets whenever he needed a pick me up. Blaise listened to Theo, and he looked after him.

Theo had never had someone care about him before, and it was amazing.

He wondered if this was what it was like to have a real family; to have people who cared and loved you unconditionally.

The distress of the previous years in the home melted away under Blaise's careful attention and Theo worshipped him. He didn't understand why the others avoided Blaise, why they often left the room when he entered. Why they watched him with barely concealed fear and suspicion. Even the staff seemed wary of him.

Blaise was just so nice!

Theo didn't understand why nobody else could see that.

…

"The boy has Theo completely under his spell, it's certainly troubling," Mrs McGonagall, the matron of the home said.

Theo stood outside the door, frozen to the spot. He'd only meant to go and ask for his laundry, but hearing his name stopped him in his tracks.

"Well, whatever he's done to brainwash the poor child, he's done it well. The other children have all said that Theo walks around behind him like a lost puppy most of the time."

"Blaise is such a troubled teen," Mrs McGonagall said quietly. "It worries me that Theo is so enamoured with him."

Not wanting to hear anymore, Theo turned tail and run back up the stairs to the room he shared with Blaise and two newer boys. Blaise was the only one inside, and he raised his eyebrow when he looked up from the magazine he was flipping through.

"You okay?"

Theo nodded. "Fine. Mrs McG is busy, I'll get my laundry later."

Rolling his eyes, Blaise patted the bed beside him. "I'll get it for you later when I get mine."

Theo thought about refusing—it was one of the rules that they were all responsible for their own laundry—but then thought about the words he'd just heard.

It certainly didn't sound like Blaise would get in trouble given the fear in their voices.

Deciding to just listen to Blaise, Theo curled up and leant against Blaise' long legs and looked at the magazine.

…

Waking up in the hospital wasn't exactly a familiar experience and Theo was scared enough to try and pull off the many wires attached to him. He had no idea why he was there but the commotion he made quickly drew the attention of the nearby doctors and nurses.

The room filling with strangers did nothing to calm Theo. Only when Mrs McGonagall arrived did he settle a little.

At least she was _familiar. _

"You're okay, Theo," she swore, reaching out awkwardly to pat his leg beneath the blanket. "The doctors are just taking care of you, okay?"

"What happened?" he asked, frowning when she paled slightly.

"There was an accident," she hedged. "A fire. You barely made it out alive, but you're going to have to stay here for a little while while the doctors make you better. You inhaled a lot of smoke, Theo."

"A fire? Where?"

"You don't remember anything?" one of the doctors asked, looking concerned when Theo looked at him.

Theo shook his head. "Nothing."

"What is the last thing you remember, Theo?" Mrs McGonagall asked.

"I was waiting for Blaise to get back," Theo replied shrugging. "Is he here?"

She shook her head. "No. No, he's not. I have to get back to the home, okay, Theo? But do as the doctors tell you, and I'll be back tomorrow."

Not really wanting to be left alone, but also not wanting to kick up a fuss, Theo just nodded. Mrs McGonagall had reached the door when he called her back.

"Will you ask Blaise to come and see me, please?"

Her only reply was a sad smile.

…

"Why didn't you visit me?" Theo demanded angrily, watching with a frown as Blaise slipped through the window.

He'd been in the hospital for three weeks before they'd finally released him, and he hadn't seen Blaise the entire time. He'd asked for him more than a few times, but nobody would tell him why Blaise hadn't been to see him.

Theo had never felt so abandoned in his life.

When he'd returned home, only to find all of Blaise' things gone, and everyone looking at him like he was about to fall apart any second, the feeling had only intensified.

And now Blaise was here, crawling in through the window like a criminal!

"I couldn't!" Blaise replied in a heated whisper, glancing at the door. "They're blaming me for the fire, Theo! They're looking for me, and they're going to arrest me if they find me!"

"But…" Theo shook his head in a firm denial. "You wouldn't hurt me! Of anyone ever, you're the only one that's ever done everything to _protect me!_"

Blaise crossed the room and slid into Theo's bed and pulled the covers up around them both. "If they find me here, they're going to lock me away, Theo. I don't want to be apart from you."

"I won't tell them," Theo promised. "I won't tell them that you're here, or that I've seen you."

Nodding, Blaise tugged Theo closer, curving himself around Theo's back. "Just a couple more years and you'll be able to leave here and we can run away together."

"We could go now?" Theo offered. "I'm fifteen, there has to be some work I could find. We could make it work?"

"I need to lay low for a while," Blaise replied quietly. "I'll come and see you as often as I can though, I promise. Just… don't talk to the others about me. I don't trust any of them."

"Okay. I promise. You… you can stay for a while, though, right?"

"Of course I can. I'm sorry I didn't come to the hospital. I just… I was scared."

"It's fine," Theo rushed to reassure. "You're here now. Just… don't leave again, okay? Promise you'll always come back."

"I promise. I love you." Theo turned his head and Blaise pressed a soft kiss against his lips. "Go to sleep, Theo, I'm here now. I'll protect you."

…

Blaise couldn't visit him during the day. Not only was the home a flurry of activity in all the common areas, but Theo still had to share a bedroom with two other boys, so it wasn't very often that he got any privacy.

Almost every night though, Blaise slipped through the window and into bed with Theo. He wrapped himself around Theo, and made the same promise to keep him safe every single time.

A few nights when Theo found sleep unreachable, Blaise even sang to him quietly, like a private lullaby just for him.

It was fine. Not great, because Theo preferred to have Blaise around as much as possible, but fine. At least he still got to see Blaise occasionally.

Except then they were caught.

"Who are you talking too, Nott?" Vincent asked, sitting up in his bed, rubbing at his eyes.

"Noone," Theo yelped. "It's nothing."

"You're clearly talking to someone," Vincent argued.

"Please don't tell anyone," Theo begged. Blaise stayed lying down in bed as Theo sat up. "Please, Vincent. I can't… if anyone found out that Blaise was coming to see me, they'd lock him away!"

Vincent stared at him for a long moment, his eyes wide and his mouth open in shock. Eventually, he lay back down, and said softly, "Don't worry, Theo. I won't tell anyone."

Theo turned back to Blaise only to find him gone. He must have slipped out of the room while Theo was talking to Vincent. Sighing, Theo lay back down and stared at the ceiling. Without Blaise there to protect him from nightmares, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep.

It was going to be a long night.

…

"Theo, Vincent came to see me this morning about a conversation the two of you had last night," Mrs McGongall said, closing the door to her office.

In the room with them were two men that Theo didn't recognise. Both were wearing a strange white uniform, and were watching him carefully.

"I don't know what he's talking about Mrs," Theo replied, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as she sat down in her seat on the other side of her desk. "He must have been dreaming, I didn't speak to Vincent last night."

She looked at him for a long moment. "We didn't tell you this, because we didn't want to needlessly upset you until your memory returned, Theo. Blaise died in the fire that hospitalised you. We have reason to believe he was the one to start the fire in the first place."

Theo shook his head. "You're lying. Why are you lying?"

"Theo—"

"No," Theo shouted, shaking his head as he stood up. "You're lying to me! Blaise comes to see me every single night, so I know he's not dead! Why are you lying to me?"

One of the men reached out and grabbed hold of one of Theo's arms, as the other locked down Theo's other arm.

"Blaise is dead, Theo. He couldn't have—"

Theo screamed, fighting against the hands holding his arms down. "NO! NO, NO, NO! YOU'RE LYING!"

He screamed and he screamed until he felt a prick in his neck and blackness overcame him, pulling him away into blessed nothing.

…

They locked him away in a tiny room. Three times a day they brought food for him to eat, and once every day, a man in a mustard jumper holding a clipboard arrived to try and talk to him.

Theo wasn't interested in anything they were saying.

He didn't understand why they were so intent on trying to fill his head with such lies. Blaise wasn't dead, Theo had _seen _him.

And he certainly wouldn't have put Theo in danger, so there was no way was Blaise the one to start the fire. The very idea of it was unfathomable.

"_You're innocent in all of this, Theo, we understand that." _

If he was so innocent, why had they locked him up? There were bars on the high window. They called it a private hospital, but Theo knew it was just a glorified name for a prison.

Theo longed for Blaise to come and visit him. He knew it would be reckless, but wasn't visiting him in the home reckless?

He waited patiently, because he knew that Blaise would come. He would, because he loved Theo. He'd said so.

…

The moon shone through the bars, casting shadows in the small cell that was Theo's room. Theo had tried to sleep, but it was difficult when he didn't have warm arms wrapped around him.

Not for the first time, he wished he could curse those that had put him here.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

Theo twisted so hard it sent a spasm of pain up his back into his neck but he didn't care. Leaning against the wall, beautiful in the moonlight, was Blaise.

Theo smiled and reached for him. "I knew they were lying to me."

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**Written for:**

Disney - S4. When There Was You And Me - Write about someone feeling abandoned.

Space - 4. Mid - (genre) angst

Book Club - Madame Zeroni: (plot point) helping someone, (word) curse, (word) lullaby

Scamander's Case - 7. (prompt) write about someone innocent

Bex's Basement - 8. "How do we find [Name]?" / "Just follow the screams."

Film Festival - 4. Anger

Marvel - 8. Reckless

Funfair, North - Do You Wanna Build A Snowman - Step 3 - 6. Love

Funfair, East - Advent Calendar - Day 10. First Kiss

Funfair, South - Light the Menorah - 1. Theo Nott

Galleon - Distress

365 - 311. Brainwash


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